Effects of di-n-butyl phthalate on the physiology and ultrastructure of cucumber seedling roots

Abstract

Agricultural pollution caused by the use of plastic sheetings has been documented to be a widespread problem in most of the major crop-planting regions of the world. In order to better understand the phytotoxic mechanisms induced by phthalic acid esters involved with this problem, Cucumber sativus L. cv Jinyan No. 4 were sown in pots to the three-leaf-stage in the presence of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP; 0, 30, 50, 100, and 200 mg L−1) for 1, 3, 5, or 7 days. Physiology, biochemistry, and ultrastructure of seedling roots were examined. The results indicated that activities of three antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD)) were stimulated at low-DBP treatments and decreased under higher levels (>100 mg L−1) compared to the controls. On the other hand, SOD and POD provided a better defense against DBP-induced oxidative damage in the roots of cucumber seeding, compared to CAT. The productions of both malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline (Pro) were promoted under DBP stress. Visible impact on the cytoderm, mitochondrion, and vacuole was detected, possibly as a consequence of free radical generation. These results suggested that activation of the antioxidant system by DBP led to the formation of reactive oxygen species that resulted in cellular damage.

Physiological and biochemical responses and microscopic structure changes of Populus tomentosa Carr seedlings to 4-BDE exposure

“…The increased contents of MDA and Pro and the decreased content of POD in this study indicated the damage of membrane system. The changes in the MDA and Pro contents were approximately the same as those observed by Zhang et al (2014). But changes in the POD content did not have the same trend to other studies.…”

Effect of di- n -butyl phthalate on root physiology and rhizosphere microbial community of cucumber seedlings

“…The adverse effects of PAEs on microorganism communities were not surprising, as di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diethyl phthalate have been reported to change microorganism communities in soils [35,36]. DBP can affect plant root membrane permeability [37]; thus, it is possible that DBP toxicity might lead to the root leakage of organic compounds that can affect soil microbial communities.…”

Phthalate esters contamination in soils and vegetables of plastic film greenhouses of suburb Nanjing, China and the potential human health risk

“…However, particle precipitation after volatilization from and direct release of PAEs from plastic film are supposed to be the main sources in soils in polytunnel greenhouses (Wang et al 2007). PAE contamination in vegetables such as rape in Nanjing and toxicity effects on the physiology and ultrastructure of cucumber seedling roots have been recorded (Cai et al 2008;Chai et al 2008;Zhang et al 2014); however, contamination of soils and vegetables in poly-tunnel greenhouse has not been studied in detail.…”